Hello, I'm in Konoha
by ArtImitatesSex
Summary: She was the last person he had ever expected to see alive. Why did she return? KR. Please RR.


A/N: Story idea came from the song, 'Hello, I'm in Delaware' by City and Colour. The obviously jacked from LOST line belongs to...LOST. Naruto belong to Kishimoto-Sensei.

It was a dreary winter evening. It could rain at any moment as the clouds above collided together in a violent display of power. Kakashi Hatake, the famous copy-nin from Konoha Village was on route back home after being gone for six weeks on a mission in the Hidden Village of Mist.

As he was jumping from branch to branch, he heard a crack of lightening and slowly the still air was bombarded with heavy droplets of rain. Kakashi liked the rain; the smell of it. Therefore, he didn't mind traveling in it.

Less than a mile from the gates of Konoha he felt an odd pull on his chakra. There was someone following him. He did his best to pretend to not have noticed; all while resting his hand in his weapon pouch. He already had two fingers wrapped around a kunai. With a deep breathe, he engaged in an attack on the person behind him.

He missed with his first attack and before he knew it, he was dodging their counter-attack. He landed on a thick tree branch and turned to face his opponent. A woman, he could tell by her figure. Although her uniform wasn't form fitting and her face was covered by an intricate mask. Kakashi stood at his full height and looked at the ninja in front of him. She looked frozen in fear or shock and he could visibly tell that her knees were shaking.

Then, there was an explosion. She had obviously been too distracted to notice that he had thrown an explosive kunai that landed on the branch next to her.

The explosion was massive and Kakashi knew it had been a direst hit. He traveled quickly to the ground and spotted her body lying still and bent. He grabbed her supply pack first and turned her over onto her back. As he grabbed her arms he noticed that her left wrist was broken; a result of her impact with the ground.

He reached fir her mask until a gleam of metal caught his eye. Next to her body, something had slipped out of her pack. It was a forehead protector. Kakashi picked it up and felt the dulled metal against his cold fingers. All around him the rain was washing away the pieces of debris that surrounded him as his breath caught in his throat.

The forehead protector bore the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village and struck through the center was a single line. A cold shiver ran through Kakashi's body; this woman was an exile of Konoha Village. Who was she and why was she so close to Konoha's borders?

Kakashi took a deep breath and lifted his fingers towards her mask. When it was completely off her face; he jumped away so quickly the mask didn't even have time to hit the ground. His hand was against his chest, trying to steady his rapid heartbeat.

It couldn't be. Last he had heard she was dead. He hadn't seen her since they were teenagers, when times were simpler. When they were still under the protection of their sensei.

A few moments later, he tried to wake her but she was out cold. The only thing he could think to do was the take her back to the village she abandoned all those years ago.

The village was quiet, mostly because of the downpour and the late hour. No one noticed Kakashi enter the village carrying an unconscious girl on his back. He struggled with whether he should take her to a hospital or if he should keep her safe and hide her. He knew hat when a missing-nin came back to the village they abandoned they would be arrested straight away. However, Kakashi had questions and the only way he was going to get answers was to make her feel safe.

His house was dark and quiet when he entered through his bedroom window, so as not to attract attention to himself. Every movement he made echoed twice as loud to his ears. Every footfall. Every inhale. Her inhales seemed louder as much as they were labored. He laid her on top of his blankets that lay haphazardly on his mattress. His pillows still held the imprint of his last nap before leaving on his mission.

After laying her down gently on his bed, he turned on his lamp on the other side of the room. Covering every top layer with a golden glow. He settled his tired eye on the unconscious girl before him as he let out a huge sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding. He lazily pulled off his forehead protector revealing his half-open Sharingan eye and its vertical scar. He ran a hand through his wet silver hair.

It seemed almost too hard to believe. The last person he expected to see alive after all these years was Rin.

There was nothing he could do at the moment, she was still out cold. He had quickly yet carefully dressed her broken wrist and made her as comfortable as he could. He took out some of his old training pants and a navy blue shirt that he knew would be too big for her and laid them where he knew she would find them. He grabbed the same for himself and walked out into the living room; leaving his door perked open.

Kakashi haphazardly took of his green vest; letting it fall across a chair. Minutes later he was changed into clean, dry clothing and standing in one spot in his small kitchen. He was at a loss; he didn't know what to do with himself or how to proceed with the situation he just got himself into. He hand unconsciously grabbed at an open Sake bottle that was sitting on the counter. He pulled off his mask and took of big swig of it. It tasted bitter but he reveled in the slow burn it left down his throat. As if in a daze, he sat down right in the middle of his kitchen and continued to drink from his bottle.

The first thing she registered was that she was under a blanket in a large bed. The second was that her wrist was throbbing. She reached over to touch it and noticed that it was wrapped up in bandages. Then, fear set in and she sat up quickly; gasping for a calming breathe.

She looked around herself and saw that she was in a dimly lit room that smelled of burnt sage and cologne. She took off the heavy black comforter and tried her best to stand; though her knees still felt weak. She looked around and saw a mantle piece that held two framed photographs.

The first photograph sent a shock wave through her nerves. She remembered this. It was of herself, Obito, Kakashi and her childhood sensei, Minato. The person who owned this apartment, she knew, was someone in this picture. Since Obito died and she had heard of Minato's death after it happened, she knew it had to be Kakashi.

Her heart tightened in her chest at the thought. She had heard of all his adventures since she had run away; he had practically become legendary. She set the photograph down and picked up the one next to it. It was so similar to the one before except in this one instead of a flash of bright yellow hair from her former Sensei, she saw silver. His hands were resting on their heads of his two male students; much like Minato in their original photograph.

It seemed almost surreal to her that Kakashi had become a teacher. Maybe the ANBU life had been too much to handle. Although, she knew she could be very wrong, she hadn't seen him since they were sixteen.

The second she heard a noise coming from another room, she came to realization that she was alone in an apartment without her weapons pouch. She slowly opened the door with her right hand and entered the dark hallway. She heard the noises again, it sounded like the person; she guessed Kakashi; was cooking.

When she looked out from the hallway the first thing she noticed were his long silver locks. He heard a noise from behind him as he poured the ramen into a bowl so he stopped. He turned to slowly look at her and he heard a gasp.

She couldn't believe how much he looked the same; although she could easily blame it on the mask that still covered his nose and mouth. Covering the features of his face that she had never gotten to see. Then her eyes settled on his Sharingan eye and the scar that went along with it. Memories ran through her head as she cast her eyes downward, away from his face.

"Come on in, I'm sure you're hungry." Kakashi said softly as he set two bowls down on the table; across from each other. Kakashi sat down in front of his bowl and patiently waited for Rin to come out of the shadows. As she walked out of the dark hallway she tried to flatten her hair that was in layered tangles. She slowly sat down across from her old friend.

It felt like the old days and suddenly all of the passionate feelings she once held for the man in front of her fluttered through her veins; making her skin tingle. The thoughts almost made her laugh out-loud. She couldn't still have feelings for him; the man sitting in front of her was practically a stranger. She didn't know the things he had gone through; didn't know the man he had become. She stared down at her ramen for almost a solid minute as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"It's not poisoned." Kakashi said, referring to the ramen. Rin tried to smile, but the bruise on her cheek made it impossible.

"I know. You wouldn't poison my food." Rin said, as she picked up her chopsticks.

"I wouldn't?" Kakashi said, his eyes boring holes into Rin's. She paused for a moment as the air wore thin between them. "You are a missing-nin, in the village that you deserted. This would usually mean immediate imprisonment." Kakashi explained without a hint of playfulness in his voice. Rin just looked at him with a shocked look on her face.

"But I'm not going to turn you in. I just want answers and then you can leave." Kakashi said. Neither of them touched their ramen that was steaming in front of them. Rin tried her best to avoid eye-contact with him as she waited for his barrage of questions.

"Why were you on route to Konoha?" Kakashi asked, both of his hands resting at his sides.

"I was coming to find you." Rin said, honestly.

"Oh, now it makes perfect sense why you attacked me!" Kakashi said with sarcasm dripping from his words.

"I didn't know it was you while I was attacking. Not until you turned around to face me." Rin said as she began to play with the bandages on her left wrist.

"Thank you, for taping up my –"

"Why were you coming to find me?" Kakashi interrupted without blinking an eye. The question made her laugh nervously.

"That's a long story." She said as she stood up, thought instead of looking at Kakashi, she kept her eyes down at her feet.

"I think I'm going to lie back down." Rin said, taking note that Kakashi was staying in his seat. Rin started to walk back towards the hallway. Just as she reached the doorway, she turned her head back to Kakashi.

"Do you still visit him?' She asked in almost a whisper. Kakashi knew that it would hurt her too much to say his name; but he knew exactly who she was asking about.

"Everyday." Kakashi answered simply. Rin gave him a sad little smile and walked back into his room.

Kakashi had been lying on his couch for hours; face up towards the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. However, he could not shake off thoughts of the women sleeping in his bed. After ten years of absence she crashed back into his life like a vicious hurricane. There was no shaking off his feelings of confusion and, oddly enough, excitement. He regretted being so cold with her earlier but he would never admit it out loud.

He stood up, letting his bare feet become accustomed to the cold wood floor. He was as quiet as his ninja skills would allow him to be as he walked from his living area to his bedroom. The door was open just a bit so he peered inside. It looked like Rin was completely asleep. The bandages that were wrapped around her wrist were now sitting next to the framed picture of his childhood team. The bruises that had riddled her wrist and face earlier that evening were gone. He smiled as he remembered what a talented medic-nin she was. He stepped into the room silently and gazed between Rin and the framed photograph of the both of them as Genin.

It took him a few moments to realize that her eyes were open and she was gazing up at him from her position on his bed. It startled him at first but then he smirked; although she couldn't see it.

"I didn't notice you had woken up." Kakashi said.

"I'm still a ninja, ya know. I can feel when someone's watching me." Rin said as she sat up in bed; the thick black comforter falling from her shoulders to pool around on her lap. The moonlight came streaming in through the windows and cast a dark blue flow onto her brown hair. Making the red markings on her cheeks seem brighter.

There was a long, loud silence passing between the two old friends. He didn't want to admit it but she had grown into one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen; and he had seen his fare share of gorgeous women.

Before he had time to react to the situation, Kakashi suddenly had Rin in his arms. The sobs she had been holding in reverberating in his chest. He closed his eyes and tentatively wrapped his arms across her back; holding her to him. She was mumbling inaudible words into his chest; crumpling his black shirt into a ball in her tiny fists.

After a few moments, her sobs seemed to die down. It was then that he could hear what she had been trying to tell him.

"There's a rumor going through all the villages, that's why I came to see you. Why I came back to Konoha." She said as she backed away from Kakashi and wiped away at her tear stained cheeks. Kakashi's hands fell to his sides and then resided into his pockets.

"What kind of rumor?" Kakashi asked in his normal monotone voice as he rested a hand on her shoulder; letting her know it was all right to tell him everything. He quickly noticed that throughout the years he had grown considerably taller than her.

"There's a man our age who wears a bandage over his left eye. A fight broke out with him in the village I was staying in. The man who fought him said that he didn't have the use of his right arm and when his mask fell from his face; he had the Sharingan." Rin said this and sat down on the side of the bed while she waited for Kakashi to process everything she had said.

"So, why did you come looking for me?" Kakashi asked. Rin looked surprised at his question.

"Can't you piece it together yourself? It's Obito!" Rin practically shouted. Kakashi was silent before turning his back on Rin and stuffing his hands back into his pockets.

"Obito is dead. We both saw it happen." Kakashi said calmly, even though he wanted to shout at her.

"But, it adds up, it's Obito! I came here to find you so we could go after him! If we find him maybe we can bring him back!" This was a breaking point for Kakashi; who had been trying to keep quiet and calm throughout this entire conversation.

"Back where? You can't even come back here!" Kakashi turned and shouted at her. Rin looked shocked at first, but she understood his frustration.

"What about our team, Kakashi-kun?" Rin was on the verge of tears once again as she stared into the lazy eyes of her former crush.

"We haven't been a team in ten years. Minato's dead. You abandoned me and Obito _is_ dead. If he wasn't you think he would have returned already." Kakashi argued.

"He must have been brainwashed." Rin said.

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"The man who fought him mentioned that he was wearing a cloak. An Akatsuki cloak." Rin said quietly. At this statement Kakashi raised his silver eyebrows.

"Now this is even more of a stretch. Obito joined Akatsuki?" Kakashi said as he started to pace around his room. Rin watched him for a moment and then spoke again quietly.

"Will you help me find him, Kakashi-kun?" Rin asked. It hurt Kakashi to hear her call him that since it reminded him to much of his childhood. He could hear in her voice that this was her last straw. She wasn't going to try and convince or force him to go with her. She just wanted a simple yes or no answer.

"I'm 27 years old and I've just barely come to terms with Obito's death. I'm not about to start holding onto false hope that he _might_ be alive. With Akatsuki or otherwise." Kakashi looked up into her sad brown eyes. "My responsibility is to Konoha and to the Hokage." Kakashi said, though there were hints of sadness and regret in his voice.

"I'm sorry Rin, but I can't go with you." He said, turning his eyes away from her pleading eyes. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't fight away the one tear that slid down her alabaster and red cheek.

"Then I have no other purpose here." Rin said quietly and by the time Kakashi turned to look at her, she was gone. A chilling breeze came in through the window. He looked out into the empty streets but she was nowhere to be found. He threw on his shoes and quickly left. If he was swift he could catch her where he knew she would go before she left Konoha forever.

The rain made no sign of letting up as Kakashi leaped from rooftop to rooftop. He finally came to his destination as he landed silently on the grass. He could see her a few meters ahead of him; sunken to her knees in front of Konoha's Memorial Stone. Her slender fingers tracing their old teammates name.

"You followed me." Rin said without looking back at him. She stood and faced him after he didn't say anything. He couldn't tell the difference between her tears and the rainfall. He nose and cheeks were red from the cold.

"I don't know when I'll see you again. I couldn't leave things like that." Kakashi said as he stepped towards her. Her eyes looking tired and swollen as they finally stood face to face.

"I shouldn't have come here. I'm the one who runs…not you." For the first time the whole evening, Rin looked up into Kakashi's eyes. She didn't cower away from his Sharingan that used to belong to her dead friend.

Unconsciously Kakashi's hand rested upon her shoulder to comfort her. Rin began to get a very curious look on her face as she watched Kakashi's eyes. Slowly, her hands started to travel to either side of his face. Kakashi didn't understand what she was going to do until the tips of her fingers slid underneath his black mask. Kakashi grabbed her wrists to stop her.

"Wait, Rin." Kakashi said so softly it barely came out. Rin shh'd him gently and looked up into his eyes again.

"This may be the last time I ever see you so…I want to really see you." She said so sincerely. After a silent moment, Kakashi's grip on her wrists loosened and she slowly pulled the mask down over his nose and then his lips, until it was down past his chin. Kakashi noticed that the first thing she did was smile and he let out a huge nervous breath. Her left hand lifted up to his lips and she touched them, just barely.

"Wow." Rin said, making Kakashi blush. She ran her hand over his wet cheek and then sadness filled her eyes. Her hands dropped down to her sides. She looked up at Kakashi and tried to fake a smile. She did her best to memorize his face and the way his wet hair was sticking to his face. Or even though his eyes still looking lazy, they also looked happy.

"Bye, Kakashi-kun." She said as she took one last look into his mismatched eyes and then started to walk away. Kakashi felt helpless.

"Rin!" He called as he ran towards her. Just as she turned to him, the warmth of his lips met hers in a crash of emotion and pent of feelings. Rin could hardly believe it. This man she had been in love with since she was twelve was kissing her; finally at age twenty-six. After a moment of shock; she kissed him back.

His hand that was resting on her hip pulled her closer to him until his wet black shirt was pressing up against her vest. Her fingers ran through his sopping wet hair at the base of his neck. After a minute or two, Kakashi pulled away and looked down into Rin's brown eyes.

"We'll meet again in this life…if not the next." Kakashi said softly before he let go on Rin, his hands falling down at his sides helplessly. Rin tired her best to smile at him before she seemed to disappear out of thin air.

Suddenly, Kakashi was alone. His eyes fell onto the memorial stone, centering in on Obito's name. He stayed there for sometime before stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning around to go back home.

The End


End file.
